Lectins: The Dietary Dilemma of Our Time!

After reading about the 'belly' doctor, 'listening' to the grain brain doctor and watching the functional medicine man on PBS, months later, more unsettling news about our modern diet surfaced. What next, I thought? I am now faced with more troubling dietary news from a most illustrious man of medicine. Is this for real? Oh, my. Is our food world collapsing? I thought our choices had dramatically improved.

Had I been living a dietary lie since birth? Dr. Oz had the newest expert, a renown cardiologist, on his show, recently, in a snippet food segment, warning us about the plant protein called lectins, found in many of the foods we eat. It seems these proteins, found in plants, dairy and meats are present as a defense mechanism for the plant or animal against intruders who might eat them - other animals and us! (Step aside, gluten). Lectins, mother nature's toxic messengers of defense, are hidden in many of the healthy foods we eat. (Dear Dr. Oz: The doctor should have been the whole show not a small snippet of it, near the end. That was a great disservice to your viewing audience.)

In his latest book, The Plant Paradox, (I have not read it, in its totality, yet.) the 'lectin' doctor, a world renowned cardiac surgeon, a surgical inventor with patents pending, talks about our modern diet, with its after effects of weight gain, cholesterol and autoimmune diseases. He is a gifted researcher and director, having performed the most pediatric heart transplants in the world. Who is not going to heed the warnings of a man of medicine with such a list of credentials? The doctor cautions us against eating certain species of the plant kingdom, quite a few actually. Whole grains were not meant to be. The paleo diet is also on notice. I am so sad. Stay away from the seeds inside and skin outside. I'm listening, with trepidation. A life time of 'healthy' eating cannot be wrong, now. I love the skin of baked potato, apples and the zest of lemons. Green bananas are fine. (They are resistance starch and the peel is not eaten, anyway). The other three men of medicine have said similar things about grains, those denizens of my food world. Are we now adjudicating for processed foods, somehow? Are we doomed?

Lectins are found in legumes, grains, dairy, meats and plants. We are being told to soak dried beans in more frequent water changes, overnight and again before boiling them for 10 minutes. Rinsing canned versions, preferably organic, of course, helps to remove more of these sinister lectins. Remove all seeds and skin, from vegetables. I think many of us do. Certain seeds and nuts are a no-no. Oh, my. Lectins are in there, too. O.K. I get it. Sweet potatoes are fine, thank goodness. Leafy greens are super. Many foods have a numerical lectin count that diminishes with proper cooking. The raw diet is now under the looking glass.

Here's Momsey's 'paradox': I gave birth to an infant, over three months too soon, decades ago, eating a diet consisting of whole grains which 'early' man rarely/never consumed. The doctor and other 'experts' dismiss outright my 'food pyramid'. (I had no choice.) I ate what could be tolerated, minutes at time. Sleep or naps were 'our' salvation. Our baby's pediatric specialists were astounded by our first born's birth weight of three pounds, two ounces. Babies begin to gain weight in the 3rd trimester. Our son never made to the end of his second.

"The proof is always in the pudding." My 'pudding' is proof that my 'biology', though it struggled through three pregnancies, knew what it was doing for our baby. But now, those food choices are suspect. What has changed? Has human biology or plant biology changed since then? It was this simple daily diet that was central to our son's, in utero, survival. There were no cravings for the 'wrong' foods or processed food, including much loved pickles. Relentless morning sickness lasting all day, everyday, controlled what I ate and when. A small window of opportunity, lasting minutes, existed to feed our son. Food was expelled within 10-15 minutes of eating, in a body not meant to carry to term or 'build' a fetus. Cooking whole grains such as buckwheat kasha, cornmeal, oatmeal, red river cereal that mix of cracked wheat, flax seeds and rye, kept our son alive! He arrived, a living, breathing miracle, because I literally 'survived' on grains, these ill-advised choices of modern man, according to the illustrious lectin doctor. The baby grew into a funny man of strength.

As I ponder the food universe, thinking about what to do next, I realize some food choices will not change but preparation methods must. I will still chomp on the whole raw apple, seedless, but not peeled. There is ursolic acid, the muscle builder, just under the surface of the apple's skin. I am not throwing it out! Our dogs love those tree fruits and benefit from them in their diet. The battle will be fought in the grocery aisle. White and green tea 'extracts' are tops with the doctor so I will endeavour to tip the scales in favour of these centuries old Chinese teas, more often. I enjoy them anyway and have been for decades. Whew. But other teas matter, too, for me. Citrus will be juiced or peeled as needed, then eaten. I will still eat dried/canned legumes but mindful of the increased water changes for their preparation. They are a cheap food choice, high in protein but delicious, too. Boiling them for 10 minutes will follow. I will endeavour to use my pressure cooker in instances where I might not have, in the past. High heat cooking destroys lectins.

Momsey is in information overload. How does all of this help vegans, vegetarians or raw foodists? The Paleo diet is under close scrutiny, too. Beware. We are all different in our unique ways. Lectin number counts vary for each food within a type. The lectin number is high in some foods but not necessarily dangerous to our health because of it. Our unique human biology matters. 'It' seems to begin in the gut - again! But first 'it' must be healthy. The origins of food allergies, doctors say, are rooted in this nightmarish lectin puzzle? How did we get here? Where's my Italian Rum cake? With my green/white tea brew, I should be fine for another day!

More later.